Want the Clydesdales? Prepare to pay

No matter your personal feelings about Anheuser-Busch products, you can’t deny the company’s marketing savvy. However, the most recent move by the brewing company and its corporate parent InBev may leave a sourer-than-normal aftertaste in your mouth.

According to a report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the megabrewer has started to charge an appearance fee for its beloved equine ambassadors, the Budweiser Clydesdales.

Until recently, the company covered the vast majority of the cost of the iconic draft horses in public appearances, but now most groups that want a visit from a Clydesdales team must pony up $2,000 a day, according to the Post-Dispatch story.

An In-Bev spokesman defended the decision by saying that even with the fee, the company still covers the bulk of the cost of the Clydesdales’ appearances.